SyClone

Let me get this straight.  Matt Millen literally ruins an NFL franchise and then gets hired by NBC.  Does NBC really think anyone wants to hear analysis from this man?  I don't get it.

                            GP        GS     AVG       AB       R       H        2B     3B     HR     RBI     TB       BB      SO     OBP    SLG     OPS
                          
 Ramirez           135      124    .290     479      65    139       22      2       21      77     228     16       61     .315    .476    0.791

Longoria           122      120    .272     448      67    122       31      2       27      85     238      46     122    .343    .531    0.874 

Most pundits seem to think Evan Longoria has AL ROY wrapped up.  Is he deserving?  Sure, but let's not forget the year Alexei Ramirez is having.

 *Final Regular Season Stats

Richard Justice of Sporting News has high praise for Carlos Quentin.  The title of the article is:                                                     

                                                                 Quentin No Flash In The Pan      
                                    White Sox outfielder may be part of most lopsided deal ever

He'll be 25 years old for just a few more days, and in a season dominated by wonderful story lines — like the amazing Tampa Bay Rays and Minnesota Twins, not to mention Josh Hamilton and Geovany Soto — none is better than Carlos Quentin.

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Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti is leaving the paper to "pursue other opportunities".

I'm sure Hawk Harrelson and Ozzie Guillen are deeply saddened.

John Danks pitches 6.1 innings giving up 7 hits and 3 Earned Runs but among those 7 hits were 4 Doubles, 1 Triple and 1 Home Run.  Danks is now 7-2 with a 3.25 ERA in 16 starts since May 29.

Octavio Dotel faced 3 hitters.  He threw 9 pitches and gave up 3 Hits, 3 Earned Runs and 2 Home Runs.

Horacio Ramirez gives up 3 Hits and 3 Earned Runs.

Carlos Quentin, Jermaine Dye and Jim Thome go for a combined 0-8.

White Sox had 10 Hits and scored 4 Runs.

Rays had 14 Hits and scored 9 Runs.

Rays committed 2 Errors.

White Sox attempted 2 Stolen Bases and were thrown out each time.

White Sox had a man on second base 3 times with less than 2 outs and didn't score.

At least 2 hitters reached base off of Rays pitcher Edwin Jackson in the first 4 innings yet the Sox only scored 2 runs on a Nick Swisher home run.

The good....

Orlando Cabrera, A.J. Pierzynski, Ken Griffey Jr. and Juan Uribe each went 2 for 4.

Nick Swisher and Alexei Ramirez each hit 1 Home Run with a man aboard.

White Sox had the lead off man on in 7 innings.

I'm not a believer in one game can make or break a season but todays game takes on added meaning with the Twins continuing to win. Attitude could be just as important as solid play.

In his last 2 starts (KC, Oakland) Javier Vazquez has thrown 16 innings given up 9 Hits, 1 Earned Run, 1 Walk and 18 Strike Outs. 

In 13.1 innings against the Rays this year Vazquez has 3 Walks and 14 Strike Outs.

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Scott Linebrink threw his third bullpen session since being placed on the disabled list retroactive to July 23 with right shoulder inflammation.  He had originally hoped for a return by mid-August, but Linebrink said on Friday it's looking more like the end of the month or beginning of September.

 

Here come the Rays. Suffice it to say, the next 3 games at U.S. Cellular should have the proverbial "playoff atmosphere".

Game 1 - John Danks (10-5, 3.11 ERA) against Edwin Jackson (9-8, 3.97 ERA).
Danks is 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA in 13 innings pitched vs. the Rays. Jackson is 0-2 with a 8.71 ERA in 10.1 innings pitched vs. the Sox.

Game 2 - Javier Vazquez (10-10, 4.34 ERA) against Scott Kazmir (9-6, 3.21 ERA).
Vazquez is 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA in 13.1 innings pitched vs. the Rays. Kazmir is 1-0 with a 0.00 in 7 innings pitched vs. Sox.

Game 3 - Mark Buehrle (11-10, 3.91 ERA) against Andy Sonnanstine (13-6, 4.37).
Buehrle is 0-1 with 5.54 ERA in 13 innings pitched vs. the Rays. Sonnanstine is 1-0 with 1.84 ERA in 14.2 innings pitched vs. Sox. 

The matchup that intrigues me is Vazquez vs. Kazmir.  Let's see if Javy can continue the nice little roll he's on.  Think the Mets wish they still had Kazmir?

The White Sox are 1-2 vs. Rays this year. Game 1 was W, 5-1. Game 2 L, 2-1 and Game 3 L,  4-3. The games were played May 29-31 at Tropicana Field.

Tampa Bay is 30-31 on the road. White Sox are 45-19 at home.
The Rays have out scored their opposition 50 to 31 while going 7-3 in their last 10 games.
White Sox have out scored their oppostion 75 to 23 while going 8-2 in their last 10 games.

So far this year.....

Jim Thome is 9 for 23 (.391) with 4 Doubles, 2 Home Runs and 7 RBI vs. Rays.

Alexei Ramirez is 7 for 19 (.368) with 2 Doubles, 1 Home Run and 3 RBI vs. Rays.

Jermaine Dye is 6 for 24 (.250) with 1 Double, 1 Triple and 3 RBI vs. Rays

Carlos Quentin 5 for 21 (.238) with 2 Doubles and 0 Home Runs vs. Rays

Paul Konerko is 4 for 22 (.182) with 2 Home Runs vs. Rays.

*Alexei Ramirez has reached base safely in 15 consecutive games.

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According to Dayn Perry of Foxsports.com:

White Sox  

Remaining Opponents' Avg. Win%: .524
Home Games Left/Road Games Left: 17/19
Biggest Series: 9/23-9/25 @Twins

The schedule isn't easy for the South Siders, but considering how many road games Minnesota has in the coming weeks, it's still an edge for the Sox. The goal is to build upon their narrow division lead and make that late September series against the Twins a little less meaningful.

Fatal Flaw: Back of the rotation

Fifth starters aren't concerns in the postseason, but they're very much concerns when you're fighting to get to the postseason. Once the season-ending injury to Jose Contreras forced Clayton Richard into the mix, the White Sox had something to worry about. Richard has some potential going forward, but he's been bombed thus far in his brief major-league career. Locked in a tight race with the Twins, the Sox can't afford much of a learning curve. There's still time to make a trade, but a terribly thin minor-league system and the waiver process complicate matters for GM Ken Williams.

Twins

Remaining Opponents' Avg. Win%: .500
Home Games Left/Road Games Left: 12/24
Biggest Series: 9/23-9/25 White Sox

Thanks to the Republican National Convention's arrival in Minneapolis, the Twins are about to play 14 straight on the road. In 2008, they're just 26-31 away from home, so it's obviously a crucial stretch. Worse for the Twins' hopes is that, from this point forward, they play twice as many games on the road.

Fatal Flaw: Center field

Carlos Gomez has a decent ceiling, but this year he's been simply awful at the plate. Gomez is hitting .250 AVG/.286 OBP/.338 SLG, while the average major-league center fielder has a batting line of .267 AVG/.333OBP/.420 SLG. He's not doing his job in 2008, and the Twins are the worse for it.

*The Twins upcoming trip will take them an estimated 6,234 miles to Anaheim, Seattle, Oakland, Toronto and back to the Twin Cities.

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According to WhiteSox.com: 

At this point last season, the Rays were 47-76 (.382), the worst winning percentage in baseball. As of Wednesday, they were tied with the Cubs for the best winning percentage in baseball at .616, a difference of .234.

The White Sox, who just surpassed their win total from last season with Wednesday's win against Seattle, have improved from 54-69 (.439) to 73-53 (.579), a difference of .137.

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White Sox first round pick SS Gordon Beckham has played 5 games for Class A Kannapolis Intimidators. He's currently 10 for 19 (.526) with 2 Doubles, 1 Home Run and 3 RBI.

 

It seems most pundits consider the race for the A.L. MVP between Josh Hamilton and Carlos Quentin.  Here's ESPN's Jayson Starks take on the race.  Should Jermaine Dye be included in the discussion? 

                                   Average     Runs     Hits     HR      RBI       On Base%      Slugging %

Josh Hamilton        .300               80        146      28     114         .365                 .543
Carlos Quentin       .293               89        129      35      96          .395                 .586
Jermaine Dye         .301               80        135      29      79          .355                 .575

Will Hamilton's recovery from addiction influence voters?

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Alexei Ramirez is making a case for A.L. Rookie of the Year.  As of August 18th he's hitting .308 with 13 homers and 51 RBI's.  Here's how his stats stack up. 

Multihit Games  28               AL Rookies  2nd
Hits  105                                 AL Rookies  4th
Batting Average  .308         AL Rookies  3rd
Runs Scored  45                  AL Rookies  5th
Home Runs  13                     AL Rookies  3rd
Slugging %  .484                   AL Rookies  3rd
Extra Base Hits  33              AL Rookies  4th 

Not bad for a guy who stands 6'1'' and weighs 180. 

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Paul Konerko continues to struggle at the plate.  He's hitting .225 with 12 home runs and 43 RBI's.  The most surprising thing besides his terrible work at the plate is that he has 2 stolen bases.  Konerko sat in todays win over the Seattle Mariners. On the other end of the spectrum, Carlos Quentin is hitting .409 (27-for-66) with 8 home runs and 19 RBI's in his last 17 games. 

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In the last 8 games the White Sox have out scored their opponents 59-15.  They have won 8 of 10 and 4 straight. They lead the Majors with 182 home runs followed by the Brewers with 166. The team batting average of .266 places them 11th and they land in the 17th spot with 794 strike outs. The Marlins lead the Majors in strike outs with 1079.
 

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August 20, 1:05 CT @ U.S. Cellular Field - Gavin Floyd (12-6, 3.75 ERA) throws against knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (3-7, 4.92 ERA) to close out the home series with Seattle.  Floyd has one start against the Mariners this season allowing 5 runs on 9 hits over 3 2/3 innings. 

*Francisco Liriano will throw for the Twins against Dallas Braden and the Athletics in Minneapolis. 
 

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According to Scott Merkin of MLB.com:

After more than two weeks of inactivity, Joe Crede resumed his Minor League injury rehab assignment on Tuesday night with Triple-A Charlotte. Crede played five innings and finished with a strikeout and flyout to right field.

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen reiterated on Tuesday that he will make the final call on Crede's return. It's a topic Guillen has discussed with general manager Ken Williams.

"I'm going to make it clear. I'm not going to bring Joe because he's Joe Crede," Guillen said. "I'm going to bring Joe Crede because we need him.

"Joe is ready to play? Bring him up, yeah. But the way [Juan] Uribe is playing and the way we're doing stuff, I'm not going to get Joe when he's 0-for-4, 0-for-8, 0-for-10, all of a sudden, because he's Joe Crede. Right now, it's all about winning, and that's the more important thing."  

 

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Orioles third baseman Melvin Mora and White Sox starter Javier Vazquez have been named the Bank of America Presents the American League co-Players of the Week for the period beginning Aug. 11 and ending Sunday.  

Vazquez went 2-0 with a 0.56 ERA in two starts last week. He struck out 18 batters in 16 innings, issuing just one walk.